Noise
by Khryseis
Summary: Expressing yourself is hard. Sometimes, you need a little push from someone on the outside. Contestshipping


Hello! Finals have been draining the life out of me, so I decided to take a break and write this short little thing! (I was slightly inspired while studying for my communications final; hence the name.)Forgive me for anything that's out of character and for any grammatical mistakes; I'll do better next time! :D

The word of the day is: **weenie**.

* * *

**Noise: **In communication, anything that can influence the interpretation of the message; includes _physical_, _biological_, _psychological_, and _semantic_ noise.

* * *

Being social wasn't one of Solidad's strong points. Instead of chatting up people between contests, she found she was more content when she was by herself, training and shaping her appeals. (More so with her status as a Top Coordinator.) She was a friendly person by nature but, save for those in her inner circle, she preferred to spend her time by herself. It was much less of a hassle.

She could count the number of _true_ friends (at least, she thought of them that way) on one hand. First, there was Harley; and though her relationship with the flamboyant man was complicated, she appreciated the spice he added to her life. To put it plainly, the man was completely unorthodox—and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Drew held a special place in her heart, mostly because she had been able to see his growth as a coordinator and as a person. Before they all traveled together in their group, Solidad would find herself looking forward to catching up with Drew over a cup of coffee and exchanging information about other coordinators and their Pokemon. (Sometimes they ended being rather scalding, but Solidad figured it was okay so long as no one overheard.)

She had taken an interest in May long before she had ever met the girl in person—after all, Drew would _never_ stop talking about her. "May this, May that, May, May, _May_!" The boy's incessant chatter about the girl fascinated her, as he had never acknowledged another coordinator to such an extent, and she ended up feeling a little more than excited to meet the girl who had captured her friend's heart. (Oh, she knew he had it _bad_ for the girl. He never admitted it out loud, but it was as obvious as his green hair.)

And when she finally met the real thing, Solidad found herself absolutely enchanted. Of all the people she'd met over the years, she had never met someone who was so charming or so passionate and sweet. She could see why Drew's heart had been stolen and would have had her own taken away if it weren't for the fact that she didn't swing that way. Almost on a whim she decided that she wanted to mentor May, to foster the potential that she saw lurking in the girl and to help her find her own style as she struggled on her journey as a coordinator.

Over time, May had become a sister-like figure to Solidad, someone who she cared for more than she thought possible. So when she noticed the vacant stare on May's face and the untouched food on her plate, Solidad knew that something must be seriously wrong. She sneaked into the booth directly in front of her and strained her ears, using the technique Harley had taught her the last time they decided to spy on May and Drew.

She could hear a low, muffled voice—Drew's, she assumed—telling May to cheer up. Of course; May had lost to Robert in the semifinals of today's contest. While Drew, Harley, and Solidad herself had already earned their five ribbons already, May still only had four; there weren't many contests left before the Grand Festival, so it was understandable that she was worried.

But May hadn't been too bummed when she met the three of them in the waiting room after.

"Robert's Milotic is so beautiful!" she had crooned, her blue eyes shining. "I really want to catch a Feebas!"

"With your Pokeblock making skills," she remembered Drew retort, "your Feebas will stay a Feebas all its life."

Maybe she was sick. That would explain the feverish look on her face (her cheeks were looking rather pink). But that couldn't be the problem—May's appetite grew, not diminished, whenever she had a fever. So what was it? The girl was an open book, and Solidad felt that the answer to her question was on the tip of her tongue—

"—_excuse_ me?" Solidad jumped, startled by May's sudden outburst. "You want to say that again, Drew?"

"I'm just saying you look like a Pokemon who can't decide what food to eat first."

"Are you calling me a Munchlax?" There was a growl. "Are you calling me _fat_?"

"You said it, not me," the boy responded. "Though I would have said 'Snorlax.'"

"Drew, you _weenie_!" There was a clattering of utensils. Solidad peeked over the top and saw May, red and angry, glaring at the always-collected Drew, silver fork in her hand.

"Clever insult, May."

"You—you—ugh!" she let out an angry, high-pitched noise as she threw the fork to the table. "You _really_ don't care about my feelings, huh? You're just a—a _super weenie_!"

Drew put a hand to his heart. "You hurt me with your words."

At this, the expression on May's face dropped completely, and her eyes clouded over with tears. "So . . . you really don't care . . ."

Drew stood, his eyes wide in panic. "No, May—I _do _care! I just—"

"Just what?" she asked, frowning. "What do you think of me? Do you think I'm stupid? Tell me what you really feel about me!"

Drew's mouth flapped open and shut as his face darkened in a fierce blush. "I—to you, I . . ." he trailed off and clenched his fist, unable to meet the girl's gaze. When he didn't speak again, May sighed and exited the booth.

"I'm not hungry anymore." She fished in her pocket and placed money on the table before walking away. "I'm going to my room." Drew could only watch her as she left, his face frozen stiff with shock. It was only when the door slammed shut that he sat back in his seat and buried his face in his hands.

Solidad understood a little of what the boy was feeling—May had never reacted like _that _before. Her temperament made her prone to arguments, and what just transpired was _definitely_ not an argument.

"Tell me what you really feel about me!" Is that what she was so worried about? Solidad wondered what would trouble her to the point where Drew's opinion suddenly matt—

"Oh." A grin stretched itself out on her face as she realized she finally figured what was wrong with May. Of course: it was _love_. The wheels in her head began to turn as a plan churned around in her head. She slipped out of her booth and into the seat May had once occupied, beaming her sly grin at the now-forlorn boy.

"You were spying, weren't you?"

"'Observe' is a better term," she responded. "That went _so_ well for you, didn't it?"

Drew gave her a nonplussed look before saying, "Stop hanging out with Harley."

"Why didn't you tell her how you really felt, Drew?"

"The question is, _why_ was she asking that?" A sigh escaped him. "I don't get what's going on in that head of hers. She's been so airheaded today, and when I take her out to eat she doesn't touch her food—and then she asks me _that_?" He groaned.

"Girls are confusing," Solidad shrugged. "Maybe she thinks that you don't like her?"

"That's dumb, considering I love her," Drew muttered.

"Then you should tell her that."

"I've tried!" he exclaimed. "But every time I get the courage to tell her, the thing that comes out of my mouth is the exact opposite! I might as well just write it down and throw the paper at her!"

"Why don't you? You should write down all the things you like about her and then give it to her."

Drew shook his head. "If she doesn't get the meaning behind the red roses, she won't understand the motive behind the compliments."

It was Solidad's turn to sigh. "Drew, I'm telling you to write her a love letter. We can't rely on your mouth to get her to fall in love with you."

"Well I'm _sorry_ I'm so sarcastic."

* * *

Solidad tried to be as quiet as possible as she turned the doorknob and peeked into the room. May lay on her bed, holding the rose Drew had given her up to the light, her eyes narrowed into a slight glare.

"Stupid Drew," she muttered. "Stupid, poorly-dressed weenie . . ." She sighed, reached up and plucked off a petal. "He loves me."

"He loves me not."

"He loves me."

"He loves me not."

"He—"

"Hey, May! What are you doing?" Solidad swung the door open, giving the girl a bright smile as she strode into the room. Startled, the girl flung the rose off to the side.

"Nothing! I'm not doing anything!" she exclaimed, waving her arms frantically. "I'm just getting revenge on Drew for calling me a Snorlax!"

"By ripping up the rose he gave you?" she chuckled. "May, if you're so curious about if he loves you, you should just ask him."

May raised an eyebrow. "Solidad, I know you were there earlier—you saw how he reacted! He's too much of a weenie to be straightforward with me. I mean, he thinks he's _so_ suave, tossing these red roses at me left and right like I don't know what they mean, but he can't say _three _words to my face!"

Solidad blinked, surprised. "You knew that he had feelings for you?"

May nodded. "Well, for a while I thought he was _actually_ giving my Beautifly roses. But after I moved past that phase in my life it was so obvious that even my _dad_ caught on."

"Well, what about you?" Solidad pressed. "How do you feel about him?"

The girl turned her gaze to the floor, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth. "To be honest, I really _am_ oblivious to my own feelings. I was so absorbed in contests as a rookie coordinator that I couldn't imagine myself liking Drew in that way until a friend of mine pointed it out. Then when we all started traveling together it just felt so _natural_ to be beside him. I guess somewhere along the line I kinda . . ." Her cheeks tinged pink, and May held a hand over her mouth to hide the smile, which now stretched from ear to ear. "I kinda just . . . fell."

Solidad, at this point, was convinced that May was probably the _cutest_ girl in the world. "May, that's wonderful!"

"Is it?" May chuckled. "Sometimes it feels like there's no going back—that I'm going to like that stupid weenie for the rest of my life. All that needs to happen now is for him to admit to me that he feels the same way, and we'll be all good!"

"You don't think the roses are enough of a confession?"

May shook her head. "He needs to stop using flowers and start using his _mouth_."

Solidad laughed and fished out the letter Drew had written from her pocket. "Well, I don't know what you'll think of this, then." She dropped the letter on her lap. May picked it up, unfolding the paper carefully and reading its contents curiously, her face slowly becoming more and more flushed. When she finished she turned to Solidad.

"Do you have a piece of paper?"

* * *

Drew looked so nervous that Solidad had to hold back a snicker as she slid back into the booth.

"So . . . how did it go?" His eyes shone expectantly. "What . . . what did she think?"

Solidad stretched out her arm, dropping May's reply in front of him. "Why don't you read for yourself?"

He quickly swiped up the paper, unfolding the note with shaky hands.

"May I say how endearing it is to see you so nervous?" Solidad teased. "It's like seeing you at your first contest all over again."

He glared at her. "Be quiet, Solidad." He read the first line and frowned. "She called me a 'super-mega-ultra-weenie.'"

"I know, Drew. Just keep reading." Like she did with May, Solidad observed Drew as he devoured the short message. His face, though not as expressive as May's, visibly darkened, eyes narrowed and mouth slightly gaping in disbelief. He looked at Solidad. "Really?"

"That's what she wants."

"Oh, I'll give her what she wants," the boy muttered, rising from his seat and walking away. Solidad counted to five before rising and trailing after him. She hid behind a pillar as they approached the Pokemon Center's lobby, where May was lounging on a couch.

She stood when she spied Drew, an innocent smile on her face as she beckoned her rival over. Drew, in response, quickened his pace until he was intruding in on her space. May opened her mouth to speak; at the same moment, Drew grabbed her face and pressed his lips against hers in a fierce kiss.

"Oh my," Solidad murmured, watching them with wide eyes. "It's too bad Harley missed this."

When he let her go she tottered backwards in shock, lost her balance, and fell back onto the couch, placing a hand over her mouth as she stared up at the boy, whose triumphant smirk was both irritating and attractive.

"Drew! You—"

"What?" he asked, flicking at his fringe. "_You_ were the one who told me to 'use my mouth.'"

"I didn't mean like _that_!"

* * *

Thank you for reading! What did you think?

-Khryseis


End file.
